Happy Hump Day!  Whew I cannot figure out why but I cannot get enough sleep this week!! I really think it has to do with the muscle building and the need for more sleep but more on that later. I have received a lot of questions asking what I am eating, how often, and why I am doing what I am doing so I figured I'd give you guys the insider scoop!

Right now I am trying to add muscle to my body with a program called Body Beast. It's an at home work out built to add muscle to the "scrawny guy" in all honesty. The program was designed by an ex body builder Sagi and he is HUGE! So funny and one of my favorite trainers from Beachbody (Tony Horton will always be number one!). And since I have always been the scrawny girl it seemed fitting. I'm 5'8 and I have always had a thin-esque look (Even though I was a total skinny fat girl for most of my life) but the plan is to add some new shape to this body! I am a lot leaner now than in the past so I am only doing cardio1-2x a week to really give my body the chance to grow! But more importantly than that I am eating the proper way to actually build muscle.

Fact: you cannot "lean out" and gain muscle at the same time. The 2 are opposing ideas so right now I am thankful it is sweater season and in bulk mode.

My diet right now is between 2000-2500 calories per day (that is sooo much for me!!) with 50% of those calories being from carbohydrates such as fruits, veggies, and complex carbs and starches. The key is to eat a little over what your "maintenance number" is so that the calories go mostly to muscle and very little is stored as fat.  The other 50% of my diet is broken into roughly 25% protein and 25% fats though it varies a little day to day. The kicker here is that I really need to sit down each week and lay it all out so that there is no guess work but I haven't done so well with that as of yet!

So my meals range from the minimum of 300 calorie snacks to 500 calories. I am eating 5-6 meals a day and also I haven't been super strict. If I want a little chocolate I allow it and so on. I am by no means going over board but for me if I deprive myself now I will only over eat later!

For supplements I am doing a few new things... Pre-work out if I am tired or low in energy I take a supplement called Energy and Endurance...great stuff but it packs a punch so I try not to use it too often. And most importantly post work out nutrition, for this I do 1 packet/1 scoop of chocolate vegan shakeology (YUM!!! First time trying this and I love it!), 1/2 scoop vanilla whey, 1/4 Greek yogurt (plain), 1/4 oats, 1 TB Pb, some ice and almond milk and water, and my creatine. This is my first time using the creatine...ever so I am curious to see how it will help. I can already notice a difference in my lifting (the whole purpose is to increase endurance during the work out by helping the body store more creatine). The only downside to all of this is it can upset stomachs (has not for me) and also causes water retention. Like I said though...it's sweater season so not too problematic right now.

At first the scale freaked me out but then I just stopped checking because in all honesty it does NOT matter!! I am trying to grow and add muscle so hey if I look better, fit into clothes better, and feel better who cares about the scale?

Any ways that is pretty much where I am right now but more on the work outs a little later I have already talked your eat off a ton!!

So what am I doing any ways? Well my life is mostly back to normal now…this week will be the first “normal week” since my accident and I am pretty pumped honestly. It was nice being driven around but I am ready to drive my car and have my usual schedule back.  I am feeling 100% better…no more headaches, no more pain, no more anything. I still get nervous when it gets cold with the roads but all in all and I am super happy and feeling super blessed!

The other thing that has really gone back to normal is my work outs, they have actually gotten even better!! Mike and I are working out together and we are actually loving it! We have tried it before but it just wasn’t for us but with Body Beast it has been amazing and this whole accident plus the work outs have brought us so much closer! Not to mention after not being able to do much for work outs for a month I am just sooooo pumped! I love the soreness, love that I can feel my body getting stronger again, and of course love the challenge that this work out is presenting!!

So that’s my work out now as far as food goes HOLY COW! I get to eat SOOO MUCH FOOD! It’s pretty heavenly honestly. I am currently trying to build and add muscle to my body so I am only doing cardio once a week (but trust me the way the work outs are set up your heart rate still gets up there!) and eating 50% of my diet as carbs, 25% protein, and 25% fats (at least I am trying!!) It is fun but also challenging to eat that much food. When I was on “light duty” I was eating about ½ of what I am now and was just trying to maintain and stick with clean eating. With this program I need to eat a TON of food and often too. My current calorie count is anywhere from 2000-2500 depending on the muscle group/work out plan. I promise I will give you some more details on what the workouts, foods, and s

As far as supplements go I will share a little later what I am doing with those!!

So what are your current work out plans like?